#ANON I HOPE U WERENT THINKING OF. just whether 1/2 is better or worse for all these guys.

[rathologic]

What are your character design ratings (P1 in contrast to P2, better or worse) for all Bound/ non-NPC Patho characters? :)

i love your ambition! but I'm limiting this to top 5 and worst 5 plus comments for my own sanity. since there are 24 Bound and a sum total of 34 named characters who appear (with model) in both games

gorkhon's 5 top superstars:

WOW this ended up biased a lot towards p1. in my defense p1 is better and has better characters with better designs haha

p1 rubin: rubin's size is important and by god did the character designers make the most of it. his leather outfit is A) unique, B) fairly practical, and C) homosexual (in a loving men way and an outcast breaking societal rules about bodies due to necessary and innate circumstances way), emphasizing how despite All That he leans into his own distinctiveness and trusts his abilities. it all contributes to a clear concept of his background and motivations- you can tell he's gone through a lot for his age, even while his head scar usually can't be seen without fly mode or parkour. special note to the animation where he raises his arm to match the medical poster on his wall... overall so so lovingly well done. (p2 rubin: to be discussed later)

p1 anna: just such a visually solid and interesting figure! her hair went through a lot of development stages and I think the blond wig deserves its final spot, both as a representation of her character & as a design capstone... I really love the texture and detail on her face it's just totally contradicted by the game saying she's 18. (p2 anna: give her shoes for God's sake. I can't abide like this. Decent coat but it obscures so much potential)

p1 andrey: perfect. the desaturated color of his long coat matches really nicely with his white clothing, and who can resist a guy with spurs. his red eyeshadow genuinely iconic for our 1 canon bisexual man. only complaint is I think his handkerchief was too hard to see in the game and could've been made more distinctive (p2 andrey: the color coordination gets soooo unbalanced with his chest out. #boyboss but it's really not fun to look at him)

both vlad jrs: the designers did an INCREDIBLE job of representing young vlad through his clothing, height, and mannerisms, as an anxious, unlikeable young man under a lot of pressure who tries to do his best while espousing deeply fucked up ideals... evidenced by the success of tai lopez vlad and the number of comments ive seen saying "he looks libertarian" this is stellar character design

p1 lara: her crying cat face... again a really coherent design, the purple/olive layered clothing is distinctive and pleasant to the eye. I especially like the embroidery as a hint of textile history in the patho setting and a reflection of the Town's gender roles. her hair's lovely and the sturdy boots are a perfect allusion to her family history & willingness to take action (p2 lara: hate looking at her :( they smoothed her face they took away her details. she has nothing distinctive except implausible hair physics)

honorable mention: marky mortel :) both designs slap but again p1 is more appealing in terms of varied, balanced color choices

gorkhon's cringe compilation:

2bin (p2 rubin): gets his own separate paragraph because I despise him. he looks bad I think it's perfectly in line with how deeply the writers fucked up his motivation and character but he loses so many points for his plastic looking bald head texture. doesn't even get to keep the scar! his eyes also get lightened 50% which is a baffling choice (although 2's engine is awful at displaying dark eyes anyhow)

p2 eva: sighing and moaning and sobbing. "this woman 'dresses' in skimpy and half-undone clothing because it adds to her appropriation of the kin's customs character" it really doesn't. concept art had a lovely nose but it's not IN the game. miserable. might I add the 3 primary colors are a nice attempt but not adequately balanced with yellow, which is jarring (p1 eva: honestly I do think her attire makes sense for her character in this one, and the gold/white color coordination is lovely. narrowly missed the top 5 bc she also needs shoes)

p1 victor: literally the most nothing man. guess you don't need a "character design" when you sit behind a desk anytime you're not being observed. kind of works with his being underestimated in the story but Man (p2 victor: yay he has visual personality now :) the details like his torn shirt add a lot, but they /are/ details that are sort of hard to catch)

p1 khan: off the top of my head I can't remember anything about how he looks, which is usually bad from a character design standpoint. he's an important figure and a leader of imaginative children, so it feels really jarring to have him in average normal clothing (p2 khan: also a big improvement! p2 did a lot with the Kain family resemblance, and his attire mirroring and diverging from his estranged father's slaps... however khan's haircut feels odd given the setting)

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